The Significance of Diwali, Auroville Universal Township:

'The Diwali or Deepavali festival marks the victory of good over evil. The Sanskrit word “Deepavali” means “an array of lights” and signifies the victory of brightness over darkness. As the knowledge of Sanskrit diminished, the name was popularly modified to Diwali, especially in northern India...' continue reading

It is Pope John Paul II who, during his last journey to India, reminded us once again that the “Catholic Church wants to enter ever more deeply into dialogue with the religions of the world. She sees dialogue as an act of love which has its roots in God himself. ‘God is love’, proclaims the New Testament, ‘and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him…Let us love, then, because he has loved us first…no one who fails to love the brother whom he sees can love God whom he has not seen’ (First Letter of St. John, 4:16, 19-20)” [Meeting at Vigyan Bhavan with Representatives of Other Religions and Christian Confessions, 7th November 1999]. -- A correction of the media (Pope John Paul II's forehead marked with a tilak by Hindu Priestess) reports' "The Mark of Shiva - For Sean O'Lachtnáin's Home Page"

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Q. According to Buddhism, Lord Buddha is not a god and Buddhism in its thought and practices teaches nothing about which many theists considered a god. Then would one classify all Buddhists as atheists? One may say because there are different types of Buddhism, and hence there are different ways to experience the philosophy; wherein some may have belief in the Unseen; etc..

A message board has an interesting point for reflection:

Um...

Buddhism is not atheistic by any standard...

This shows a misunderstanding of different types of Buddhism and attempts to take the fact that Theravada Buddhism (my particular type) does not center itself on a belief in a Deity and make that into "All Buddhists are Atheist", which is untrue. Theravada Buddhism doesn't deny a Deity any more than it promotes one, nor does it state that one should not believe in a Deity. Theravada Buddhism centers itself on this lifetime and the spiritual growth of your current incarnation. Not all Buddhists even believe in reincarnation, not all Buddhists are atheists, there are many different beliefs held by those that are Buddhist. Most believe that all living things are part of the Deity, that which gives us life and unites us is the part of us which is the smallest part of the Deity.

Mahayana Buddhists believe in a Central Deity, so do Shin Buddhists (a Japanese form of Buddhism that believes in Amida Buddha, the Great Compassion, as a central Deity), Tibetan Buddhists believe in much that I have still to understand, but they are more mystical than the type of Buddhism that I study. Source

In view of the above factors, scholars and Buddhists alike tend to describe Buddhism as atheistic in the sense that it denies an eternal creator God {7}, while recognizing its theistic and devotional elements. The Encyclopedia Britannica explains,

While the contemplative elite may deny the real existence of gods and demons together with the rest of phenomenal existence, the majority of Buddhists from the earliest times in India, and in other countries where Buddhism has spread, have never neglected indigenous religious beliefs. {8}

Monday, October 28, 2013

"Prometheus, the premiere publisher of skeptical literature, here issues a book that deserves to be shelved alongside the works of such giants of the field as [James] Randi, [Michael] Shermer, [Paul] Kurtz, and [Joe]Nickell. With a combination of lively prose and keen analytical reasoning, the author examines some of contemporary culture's most commonly held beliefs… A valuable, not to mention very entertainingly written, addition to the literature of skepticism." - Booklist starred review

Extract from a Review: "In Assyrian, Greco-Roman, and Byzantine empires veiling was a mark of
prestige and status. The author, Faegheh Shirazi, who is a professor at
the University of Texas at Austin, specializes in textiles and material
cultures studies. She shows, through a series of a half dozen chapters,
the immense versatility of meaning that the veil can have, depending on
the context of its use. In Iranian cinema, for example, its use means
adhering to the strictures of Islam, which forbids the erotic, whereas
in Indian cinema it's meant to be titillating and erotic. In a chapter
entitled "Veiled Images in American Erotica," cartoons from the pages of
"Playboy," "Penthouse," and "Hustler" are examined. A chapter on
advertising shows how the veil is used to sell automobiles, perfume,
cigarettes, computers, and sanitary napkins, among dozens of other
products. There are chapters covering military, political, and literary
aspects as well as film. In Muslim cultures the veil is used to prevent
"fitna," defined as the chaos caused by women's sexuality. If this is
true, then the case might be made that a good part of the world is in
total chaos. Regardless of your viewpoint, the book is thought provoking
for anyone interested in human beings and culture. "
If You're Curious About Why Women Wear Veils, By Ken T Barnett on August 23, 2001 @ Amazon.com

There are very few books that can be called "the book". Undoubtedly "The Illusion of an Islamic State" is one of them." --New Europe, Dionyssios Kefalakos

"[O]ne of the rare success stories of an initiative in which moderate and liberal Muslims" --Democracy Digest

". . . a single book with a powerful message had a huge political impact in the largest Muslim-majority democracy in the world. If it can work in Indonesia, why not in the rest of the world?" --Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin

About the book:
Perhaps no other Western writer has more deeply probed the bitter struggle in the Muslim world between the forces of religion and law and those of violence and lawlessness as Noah Feldman. His scholarship has defined the stakes in the Middle East today. Now, in this incisive book, Feldman tells the story behind the increasingly popular call for the establishment of the shari'a--the law of the traditional Islamic state--in the modern Muslim world.
Western powers call it a threat to democracy. Islamist movements are winning elections on it. Terrorists use it to justify their crimes. What, then, is the shari'a? Given the severity of some of its provisions, why is it popular among Muslims? Can the Islamic state succeed--should it? Feldman reveals how the classical Islamic constitution governed through and was legitimated by law. He shows how executive power was balanced by the scholars who interpreted and administered the shari'a, and how this balance of power was finally destroyed by the tragically incomplete reforms of the modern era. The result has been the unchecked executive dominance that now distorts politics in so many Muslim states. Feldman argues that a modern Islamic state could provide political and legal justice to today's Muslims, but only if new institutions emerge that restore this constitutional balance of power.
The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State gives us the sweeping history of the traditional Islamic constitution--its noble beginnings, its downfall, and the renewed promise it could hold for Muslims and Westerners alike. In a new introduction, Feldman discusses developments in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and other Muslim-majority countries since the Arab Spring and describes how Islamists must meet the challenge of balance if the new Islamic states are to succeed.

More articles from my desktop:

Multifaith Calendar

A source of accurate dates and descriptions of over
350 observances and events from 14 world religions: www.amssa.org

The dissemination of knowledge is one of the cornerstones of civilization.~John F. Budd
Much more is here: Dictionary of Library and Information Science Quotations by Mohamed Taher and and L.S. Ramaiah.
More quotations are here @ Library & Information Science Quotations or here: amazon.com